By https://gothamist.com/staff/arun-venugopal
Publication Date: 2026-05-27 10:31:00
A former New York-based IBM employee accused the company of favoring South Asian workers at the expense of African Americans, and blamed the Trump administration’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies as the impetus for the alleged wrongful treatment, according to a racial discrimination lawsuit filed in federal court in White Plains.
The plaintiff, Annette Brooks, worked at IBM for 26 years, according to the lawsuit, most recently as vice president, IBM Z Data and AI, but was laid off last year, amid what she alleges was “consistent preferential treatment of South Asian employees over Black employees within IBM.”
The lawsuit, which seeks $1.1 million in damages and other costs, also claimed that IBM removed several qualified Black employees “in order to appease the Trump administration, and to remain favored by the Defense Department and other government agencies with large IBM contracts.”
A spokesperson for IBM, a global technology company with headquarters in Armonk,…
